The first commercial flight departed from Saudi Arabia's futuristic new Neom Bay Airport on Sunday, the Kingdom’s transport minister said.

The airport is located in Sharma in the north-western region of Tabuk and will serve the high-tech city of Neom that is currently under construction.

Neom is being touted as a “window of opportunity" for the Red Sea as it is situated close to the Jordan and Egypt borders, and is, they say, the "world’s first" independent international zone that extends over three countries.

Saudi Arabia’s NEOM, which is building a mega economic zone, said on Wednesday it has appointed AECOM as a project management consultant for part of NEOM Bay, the first urban area to be developed in the zone.

The company told Reuters that it will start this year the construction of NEOM Bay, which will be built in more than one phase.

The $500 billion NEOM zone is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan that aims to attract foreign investments and create jobs in a bid to reduce the kingdom’s reliance on oil.